This choice: She is taking you into one of the nearby storage beach shacks • Go Back...Chapter #7Lost in Translation by: bobob1   At the edge of the beach, where the sand met grass and soon after the bitumen of the parking lot, were a trio of small shacks. They were used for storage for the local lifeguards and for community groups who could rent the space, and were technically off-limits to members of the public. However, the nearest shack was not locked and the sign on the door was in English only, so Isabella payed it no mind as she pushed open the door with her free hand and stepped quickly inside, closing the door behind her and instinctively engaging the lock. For you the sound of that metal bar sliding into place was like the door of a jail cell slamming, and as you were finally pulled away from the suffocating warmth of this girl’s chest you looked up at her with an expression of pure terror on your face.
Isabella, of course, interpreted the look on your face as a response to your general situation, and failed to realise that it had anything to do with her. Immediately concerned, her smile slipped from her face and she brought up both hands to cup you gently as her fingers unfolded, resisting the urge to press you back into the comforting embrace of her bosom in favour of speaking with you. “Ei. Ei. Não se preocupe. Você está segura comigo. Eu vou te proteger.? Though she was saddened by the way you continued to shrink back from her, the brunette did her best to smile warmly. “Você pode me dizer o seu nome? Como você ficou tão pequeno?? She sighed at the continuing look of incomprehension in your eyes, though she could at least see that you were thinking and trying to understand, so she appreciated the effort and gave you another tired smile. “Eu só quero te ajudar.?
Your terror began to slowly ebb as Isabella continued to speak, and while you were still deeply concerned over your situation, you did slowly come to accept that this girl was not trying to harm you. Being clenched in her fist and pressed to her chest had been startling, but with the beneath of hindsight you understood that she was just trying to keep you safe and comfort you, even if what she had achieved was quite the opposite. The smile on her face now was genuine though, and you felt that if you could just manage to communicate with her she would surely take you back. The problem was, with the benefit of the additional words pouring from her mouth you had realised that she was not, in fact, speaking Spanish, of which you at least knew some basic words, but was most likely speaking in Portuguese, a language in which you had no capacity whatsoever.
Before setting up your tutoring business you’d tried to learn as many languages as possible, at least to a reasonable enough degree to potentially teach English to others, but with thousands of languages in the world it wasn’t like you could learn them all. Spanish (or Castilian) and Portuguese, would have been obvious choices due to their spread, but you’d felt there was enough businesses offering courses in English to speakers of those languages that it wouldn’t get much business. Now you regretted that decision, as the language divide threatened to throw your life into further turmoil.
Still, those kind eyes looked down at you expectantly, and you were worried that if you didn’t speak soon she would resort to another ‘hug’, so you quickly tried to find words. As much as you knew it was patronising and unlikely to help, you couldn’t resist the urge to fall back on the old method of speaking slowly and annouciating each word, as if that would somehow make her understand. “Hello. Umm... I need you.? You emphasised by pointed up at Isabella and she smiled in response. “To take me.? You pointed to yourself and the brunette’s eyes lit up slightly as she nodded. Good, at least she was following so far. “To my family. Family. Understand?? You didn’t have anything to motion to for family and the quirked eyebrow you received let you know that you’d successfully lost your audience.
Worrying her lip slightly, Isabella tried to make sense of your words. She understood your gestures enough to know that you wanted to do something with her, presumably together, but she hadn’t understood the next thing you said, given there were no gestures accompanying it. The Brazilian girl tried to see if you might have been looking at something in particular, but as far as she could see your eyes were trained on her face, and while she was flattered by the attention, that didn’t help her to understand what exactly you were trying to communicate. “Você e eu deveria o que?? She frowned. “Eu sinto Muito. Eu não entendo o que você está dizendo. Você pode mostrar para mim??
Folding your arms across your chest, you closed your eyes for a moment and tried to think of how to get out of this. While the gentle curve to her lips and the genuine kindness in her eyes told you that this girl was just trying to help, the amount of words she was using didn’t help. You needed to distil your needs down to as simple a concept as possible. Perhaps it had been a mistake to immediately try and communicate the need for her to take you to your family, given that with no-one else in sight there was no physical thing for you to point at to make yourself clear. Step one then should be to try and find a means to communicate properly, to learn some basic things about one another and progress from there. It would take time, but logic told you it was the best way forward. Even if your mother and sister left the beach without you, if you could just communicate you could make it home.
Sighing, you unfolded your arms and looked back up at the now worried eyes of your unwitting kidnapper. Knowing she had meant no harm, and not wanting to hurt her, you did your best to give her a smile as you placed a hand on your chest. “Sam.? She frowned so you tapped yourself lightly and repeated. “Sam.? The buxom girl’s eyes lit up and you knew that she’d understood, as she smiled brilliantly and stated “Isabella!? with a loud happy voice. You fought the urge to cover your ears at the outburst, maintaining your smile as you repeated her name back and received a happy giggle in response. The next part would be harder, and you steadied yourself as you thought through the words. “We…? You gestured between the two of you and Isabella nodded. “Need…? You slapped the fist of your right hand down onto the flat palm of your left, in an attempt to communicate importance. “To talk.? You tried to think of a gesture for that that wouldn’t be misconstrued, but eventually resorted to just repeating the word more slowly instead. “Ta-a-alk.? You knew you sounded ridiculous right now, but you just really wanted this girl to understand your intent.
For a long moment, Isabella stared down at you, seemingly not comprehending, though her lips started to move silently as she worked over the last word, attempting to gleam it’s meaning. You looked on in trepidation, crossing your fingers and hoping by some miracle she’d understand.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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